Make a veggie pasta bake

 
Super-chef Annabel Karmel shares one of her favourite pasta recipes with NG Kids – and it’s totally yummy! 

What you’ll need
  • 1 tbsp olive oil
  • 1 medium aubergine
  • 1 red pepper
  • 1 large courgette 
  • 1 red onion
  • 10g chestnut mushrooms
  • 2 garlic cloves
  • 1 red chilli
  • 400g chopped tomatoes
  • 300 ml vegetable stock
  • 1 tbsp sundried tomato purée
  • 50 g mature Cheddar cheese
  • 1 ball mozzarella
  • 6 sheets lasagne
  • 50g fresh breadcrumbs 
  • 50g sunflower seeds
  • A sharp knife 
  • A cheese grater
  • A wooden spoon 
  • An ovenproof dish
  • A deep frying pan
 
 
1 To get started, carefully slice the aubergine into 2cm cubes, and the red pepper and courgette into 1cm cubes. Now peel the skin off the red onion, chop it into wedges and thinly slice the mushrooms. Then crush the garlic cloves and finely dice the chilli.


2 Next, preheat the oven to 200°C and then heat the oil in a deep frying pan, add the aubergine and fry over a high heat for 4–5 minutes until lightly golden. Then, add the remaining vegetables, garlic and chilli and cook for another 5 minutes.
 
 
3 Now, add the tomatoes, stock and sundried tomato purée and bring the mixture to the boil. Then, cover the pan with a lid and simmer for 20–25 minutes, or until the vegetables have softened

 
4 Carefully spoon one quarter of the mixture into the ovenproof dish, sprinkle on a little grated Cheddar and cubed mozzarella, and then place two sheets of lasagne on top. Repeat this so that you have three layers of pasta and four layers of tomato and vegetable sauce.

 
5 When you get to the last layer of sauce, sprinkle the breadcrumbs and the sunflower seeds on top. Bake in the oven for 25-30 minutes until it’s golden on top and the pasta is cooked in the middle. Now it’s ready to eat!

Perfect pasta
If this dish has inspired you to want to make even more scrummy dishes in the kitchen, then look out for Annabel Karmel’s Top 100 Pasta Dishes! This fab new book is full of delicious pasta recipes, just like the Veggie Pasta Bake, that are fun and easy for you to make. Visit annabelkarmel.com to find out more!

Remember!
Always ask an adult to help you in the kitchen and be very careful with sharp knives and hot pans!